New to saltwater

[Bamaboy]

I am setting up a 65gal tank this is very new to me. The question i have is can i use distilled water or tap water. And what is better live sand or crushed coral for the base dont want to start off on the wrong foot. Thanks Bamaboy

 

[dima]

Invest into rodi unit u will never regret it. Sand is a big conversation diff opinions. I would recommend by the one u like the look of.

 

[30cubereef]

I had originally bought crushed coral and decided I like wrasse fish. Unfortunately wrasse fish like to nest in the substrate...... my wrasse died within a day because the coral cut him up. My opinion would always go sand. That is what I have in both of my tanks. Also I tried tap water and had to restart. My parameters were way off. I bought a Rodi unit from brs and have never regretted it.

30 and 90 gallon reef newbie

 

[Bamaboy]

I had originally bought crushed coral and decided I like wrasse fish. Unfortunately wrasse fish like to nest in the substrate...... my wrasse died within a day because the coral cut him up. My opinion would always go sand. That is what I have in both of my tanks. Also I tried tap water and had to restart. My parameters were way off. I bought a Rodi unit from brs and have never regretted it.

30 and 90 gallon reef newbie

How much sand do i need for it (65gal) so i need to get a Rodi unit first r can i setup with tap water

 

[30cubereef]

Depends on how thick you want your sand bed......my 30 gallon cube took 5 bags in the end because I like it thick. I believe your question was can you hook up to tap water with Rodi.....I did and I have no problems. I'm still what you would consider a newbie also just giving you some experiences I already went through to maybe save some headaches. Also I found both this site and having a sort of go to guy at your lfs ( local fish store) Is a huge asset on your side. I spent almost an hour a day on this page when I first started reading everything I can. Lmk if you need anything. Janesville Wisconsin

30 and 90 gallon reef newbie

 

[randy4083]

You don't want to use tap water get an rodi unit because tap water has alot of nutrients in it and you want to run the tap water through the rodi unit so that it takes them out so there not in your tank because if you get them in the tank you'll have alot of algae so you don't even want to start the tank out with tap water get the rodi unit to start or you'll regret it in the long run